General Pershing's story of the American army in France

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GENERAL PERSHING'S

STORY

OF

THE American Aravy

I N FRANCE

GOD GIVE US MEN

God give us men. The time demands

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and willing hands:

Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men Yslifom the spoils of office cannot buy;

Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;

Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking;

Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking!
For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds
Mingle in selfish strife; lo! Freedom weeps.
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps!

~J. G. Holland

i o !9 ' Coinriprht.

Uy JOHN H. V

GENERAL PERSHING'S
STORY

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OF

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THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE

NEW YORK

JOHN H. EGGERS COMPANY, Inc.

Puhlishejs

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"The right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the
things luhich nue have always carried nearest our hearts — our democracy,
for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their
oivn Governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a
universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall
bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at
last free." — President Wilson's Message, April 2, 1917.

REPORT OF GENERAL PERSHING

TO THE

SECRETARY OF WAR

November 20, 1918
My Dear Mr. Secretary :

In response to your request, I have the honor to
submit this brief summary of the organization and
operations of the American Expeditionary Force
from May 26, 1917, until the signing of the armistice
November 11, 1918.

Pursuant to your instructions, immediately upon
receiving my orders I selected a small staff and pro-
ceeded to Europe in order to become familiar with
conditions at the earliest possible moment.

The warmth of our reception in England and
France was only equaled by the readiness of the com-
manders in chief of the veteran armies of the Allies
and their staffs to place their experience at our dis-
posal. In consultation with them the most effective
means of cooperation of effort was considered. With
French and British armies at their maximum strength,
and all efforts to dispossess the enemy from his firmly
intrenched positions in Belgium and France failed, it
was necessary to plan for an American force adequate
to turn the scale in favor of the Allies. Taking ac-
count of the strength of the central powers at that

5

Page 6 General Pershing^s Own Story

time, the immensity of the problem which confronted
us could hardly be overestimated. The first requisite
being an organization that could give intelligent di-
rection to effort, the formation of a General Staff oc-
cupied my early attention.

GENERAL STAFF

A well organized General Staff through which the
commanderexerciseshis functions is essential to a suc-
cessful modern army. However capable our division,
our battalion, and our companies as such, success
would be impossible without thoroughly coordinated
endeavor. A General Staff broadly organized and
trained for war had not hitherto existed in our Army.
Under the Commander in Chief, this staff must carry
out the policy and direct the details of administration,
supply, preparation, and operations of the Army as a
whole, with all special branches and bureaus subject
to its control. As models to aid us we had the veteran
French General Staff and the experience of the Brit-
ish who had similarly formed an organization to meet
the demands of a great army. By selecting from each
the features best adapted to our basic organization,
and fortified by our own early experience in the war,
the development of our great General Staff system
was completed.

The General S * is naturally divided into five
groups, each with its chief who is an assistant to the
Chief of the General Staff. G. 1 is in charge of or-
ganization and equipment of troops, replacements,
tonnage, priority of overseas shipment, the auxiliary
welfare association and cognate subjects ; G. 2 has
censorship, enemy intelligence, gathering and dissem-

The American Army in France Page 7

inating information, preparaton of maps, and all sim-
ilar subjects ; G. 3 is charged with all strategic studies
and plans, movement of troops, and the supervision of
combat operations; G. 4 coordinates important ques-
tions of supply, construction, transport arrangements
for combat, and of the operations of the service of
supply, and of hospitalization and the evacuation of
the sick and wounded; G. 5 supervises the various
schools and has general direction and coordination of
education and training.

The first Chief of Staff was Col. (now Maj. Gen.)
James G. Harbord, who was succeeded in May, 1918,
by Maj. Gen. James W. McAndrew. To these officers,
to the Deputy Chief of Stafif, and to the assistant
Chiefs of Staff, who, as heads of sections, aided them,
great credit is due for the results obtained not only in
perfecting the General Stafif organization but in ap-
plying correct principles to the multiplicity of prob-
lems that have arisen.

ORGANIZATION AND TRAINING

After a thorough consideration of allied organiza-
tions it was decided that our combat division should
consist of four regiments of infantry of 3,000 men,
with three battalions to regiment and four companies
of 250 men each to a battalion, and of an artillery bri-
gade of three regiments, a machi?<: -gun battalion, an
engineer regiment, a trench-moi car battery, a signal
battalion, wagon trains, and the headquarters staffs
and military police. These, with medical and other
units, made a total of over 28,000 men, or practically
double the size of a French or German division. Each
corps would normally consist of six divisions — four

Page 8 General Pershing^s Own Story

combat and one depot and one replacement division —
and also two regiments of cavalry, and each army of
from three to five corps. With four divisions fully
trained, a corps could take over an American sector
with two divisions in line and two in reserve, with
the depot and replacement divisions prepared to fill
the gaps in the ranks.

Our purpose was to prepare an integral American
force which should be able to take the offensive in
every respect. Accordingly, the development of a
self-reliant infantry by thorough drill in the use of the
rifle and in the tactics of open warfare was always up-
permost. The plan of training after arrival in France
allowed a division one month for acclimatization and
instruction in small units from battalions down, a sec-
ond month in quiet trench sectors by battalion, and a
third month after it came out of the trenches when it
should be trained as a complete division in war of
movement.

Very early a system of schools was outlined and
started, which should have the advantage of instruc-
tion by officers direct from the front. At the great
school center at Langres, one of the first to be organ-
ized, was the staff school, where the principles of gen-
eral staff work, as laid down in our own organization
were taught to carefully selected officers. Men in the
ranks, who had shown qualities of leadership, were
sent to the school of candidates for commissions. A
school of the line taught younger officers the princi-
ples of leadership, tactics, and the use of the different
weapons. In the artillery school, at Saumur, young
officers were taught the fundamental principles of
modern artillery ; while at Issoudun an immense plant

The American Army in France Page g

was built for training cadets in aviation. These and
other schools, with their well-considered curriculums
for training in every branch of our organization, were
coordinated in a manner best to develop an efficient
Army out of willing and industrious young men,
many of whom had not before known even the rudi-
ments of military technique. Both Marshal Haig and
Gen. Petain placed officers and men at our disposal
for instructional purposes, and we are deeply indebt-
ed for the opportunities given to profit by their vet-
eran experience.

AMERICAN ZONE

The eventual place the American Army should
take on the western front was to a large extent influ-
enced by the vital questions of communication and
supply. The northern ports of France were crowded
by the British Armies' shipping and supplies while
the southern ports, though otherwise at our service,
had not adequate port facilities for our purposes and
these we should have to build. The already overtaxed
railway system behind the active front in northern
France would not be available for us as lines of sup-
ply and those leading from the southern ports of
northeastern France would be unequal to our needs
without much new construction. Practically all ware-
houses, supply depots and regulating stations must be
provided by fresh constructions. While France of-
fered us such material as she had to spare after a drain
of three years enormous quantities of material had to
be brought across the Atlantic.

With such a problem any temporization or lack of
definiteness in making plans might cause failure even
with victory within our grasp. Moreover, broad plans

Page lo General Pershing^s Own Story

commensurate with our national purpose and re-
sources would bring conviction of our power to every
soldier in the front line, to the nations associated with
us in the war, and to the enemy. The tonnage for ma-
terial for necessary construction for the supply of an
army of three and perhaps four million men would
require a mammoth program of shipbuilding at home,
and miles of dock construction in France, with a cor-
responding large project for additional railways and
for storage depots.

All these considerations led to the inevitable con-
clusion that if we were to handle and supply the great
forces deemed essential to win the war we must utilize
the southern ports of France — Bordeaux, La Pallice,
St. Nazaire, and Brest — and the comparatively un-
used railway systems leading therefrom to the north-
east. Generally speaking, then, this would contem-
plate the use of our forces against the enemy some-
where in that direction, but the great depots of supply
must be centrally located, preferably in the area in-
cluded by Tours, Bourges, and Chateauroux, so that
our armies could be supplied with equal facility
wherever they might be serving on the western front.

GROWTH OF THE SERVICE OF SUPPLY

To build up such a system there were talented men
in the Regular Army, but more experts were neces-
sary than the Army could furnish. Thanks to the pa-
triotic spirit of our people at home, there came from
civil life men trained for every sort of work involved
in building and managing the organization necessary
to handle and transport such an army and keep it sup-
plied. With such assistance the construction and gen-

The American Army in France Page ii

eral development of our plans have kept pace with the
growth of the forces, and the Service of Supply is now
able to discharge from ships and move 45,000 tons
daily, besides transporting troops and material in the
conduct of active operations.

As to organization, all the administrative and sup-
ply services, except The Adjutant General's, Inspec-
tor General's, and Judge Advocate General's Depart-
ments which remain at general headquarters, have
been transferred to the headquarters of the services of
supplies at Tours under a commanding general re-
sponsible to the commander in chief for supply of the
armies. The Chief Quartermaster, Chief Surgeon,
Chief Signal Officer, Chief of Ordnance, Chief of
Air Service, Chief of Chemical Warfare, the general
purchasing agent in all that pertains to questions of
procurement and supply, the Provost Marshal Gen-
eral in the maintenance of order in general, the Di-
rector General of Transportation in all that affects
such matters, and the Chief Engineer in all matters of
administration and supply, are subordinate to the
Commanding General of the Service of Supply, who,
assisted by a staff especially organized for the pur-
pose, is charged with the administrative coordination
of all these services.

The transportation department under the Service
of Supply directs the operation, maintenance, and
construction of railways, the operation of terminals,
the unloading of ships, and transportation of mate-
rial to warehouses or to the front. Its functions make
necessary the most intimate relationship between our
organization and that of the French, with the practi-
cal result that our transportation department hns been

Page 12 General Pershing's Own Story

able to improve materially the operations of railways
generally. Constantly laboring under a shortage of
rolling stock, the transportation department has nev-
ertheless been able by efficient management to meet
every emergency.

The Engineer Corps is charged with all construc-
tion, including light railways and roads. It has
planned and constructed the many projects required,
the most important of which are the new wharves at
Bordeau and Nantes, and the immense storage depots
at La Pallice, Montoir, and Gievres, besides innu-
merable hospitals and barracks in various ports of"
France. These projects have all been carried on by
phases keeping pace with our needs. The Forestry
Service under the Engineer Corps has cut the greater
part of the timber and railway ties required.

To meet the shortage of supplies from America,
due to lack of shipping, the representatives of the dif-
ferent supply departments were constantly in search
of available material and supplies in Europe. In or-
der to coordinate these purchases and to prevent com-
petition between our departments, a general purchas-
ing agency was created early in our experience to co-
ordinate our purchases and, if possible, induce our Al-
lies to apply the principle among the Allied armies.
While there was no authority for the general use of
appropriations, this was met by grouping the pur-
chasing representatives of the different departments
under one control, charged with the duty of consoli-
dating requisitions and purchases. Our efforts to ex-
tend the principle have been signally successful, and
all purchases for the Allied armies are now on an
equitable and cooperative basis. Indeed, it may be

The American Army in France Page 13

said that the work of this bureau has been thoroughly
efficient and businesslike.

ARTILLERY, AIRPLANES, AND TANKS

Our entry into the war found us with few of the
auxiliaries necessary for its conduct in the modern
sense. Among our most important deficiencies in ma-
terial were artillery, aviation, and tanks. In order to
meet our requirements as rapidly as possible, we ac-
cepted the offer of the French Government to provide
us with the necessary artillery equipment of seventy-
fives, one fifty-five millimeter howitzers, and one fif-
ty-five G P F guns from their own factories for thirty
divisions. The wisdom of this course is fully demon-
strated by the fact that, although we soon began the
manufacture of these classes of guns at home, there
were no guns of the calibers mentioned manufactured
in America on our front at the date the armistice was
signed. The only guns of these types produced at
home thus far received in France are 109 seventy-five
millimeter guns.

In aviation we were in the same situation, and here
again the French Government came to our aid until
our own aviation program should be under way. We
obtained from the French the necessary planes for
training our personnel, and they have provided us
with a total of 2,676 pursuit, observation, and bomb-
ing planes. The first airplanes received from home
arrived in May, and altogether we have received
1,379. The first American squadron completely
equipped by American production, including air-
planes, crossed the German lines on August 7, 1918.
As to tanks, we were also compelled to rely upon the

Page 14 General Pershing^s Own Story

French. Here, however, we were less fortunate, for
the reason that the French production could barely
meet the requirements of their own armies.

It should be fully realized that the French Gov-
ernment has always taken a most liberal attitude and
has been most anxious to give us every possible as-
sistance in meeting our deficiencies in these as well
as in other respects. Our dependence upon France
for artillery, aviation, and tanks was, of course, due
to the fact that our industries had not been exclusively
devoted to military production. Ail credit is due our
own manufacturers for their efforts to meet our re-
quirements, as at the time the armistice was signed we
were able to look forward to the early supply of prac-
tically all our necessities from our own factories.

The welfare of the troops touches my responsibil-
ity as Commander in Chief to the mothers and
fathers and kindred of the men who came to France
in the impressionable period of youth. They could
not have the privilege accorded European soldiers
during their periods of leave of visiting their fam-
ilies and renewing their home ties. Fully realizing
that the standard of conduct that should be estab-
lished for them must have a permanent influence in
their lives and on the character of their future citi-
zenship, the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian
Association, Knights of Columbus, the Salvation
Army, and the Jewish Welfare Board, as auxiliaries
in this work, were encouraged in every possible way.
The fact that our soldiers, in a land of different cus-
toms and language, have borne themselves in a man-
ner in keeping with the cause for which they fought,
is due not only to the efforts in their behalf but

The American Army in France Page 75

much more to other high ideals, their discipline, and
their innate sense of self-respect. It should be re-
corded, however, that the members of these welfare
societies have been untiring in their desire to be of
real service to our officers and men. The patriotic
devotion of these representative men and women has
given a new significance to the Golden Rule, and we
owe to them a debt of gratitude that can never be
repaid.

COMBAT OPERATIONS

During our periods of training in the trenches some
of our divisions had engaged the enemy in local com-
bats, the most important of which was Seicheprey by
the Twenty-sixth on April 20, in the Toul sector, but
none had participated in action as a unit. The First
division, which had passed through the preliminary
stages of training, had gone to the trenches for its first
period of instruction at the end of October and by
March 21, when the German offensive in Picardy be-
gan, we had four divisions with experience in the
trenches, all of which were equal to any demands of
battle action. The crisis which this offensive devel-
oped was such that our occupation of an American
sector must be postponed.

On March 28 I placed at the disposal of Marshal
Foch, who had been agreed upon as Commander in
Chief of the Allied Armies, all of our forces to be
used as he might decide. At his request the first divis-
ion was transferred from the Toul sector to a position
in reserve at Chaumont en Vexin. As German supe-
riority in numbers required prompt action, an agree-
ment was reached at the Abbeville conference of the

,/*<,»<.-

Fage i6 General Pershing^s Own Story

Allied premiers and commanders and myself on May
2 by which British shipping was to transport 10 Am-
erican divisions to the British Army area, where they
were to be trained and equipped, and additional Brit-
ish shipping was to be provided for as many divisions
as possible for use elsewhere.

On April 26 the First Division had gone into the
line in the Montdidier salient on the Picardy battle
front. Tactics had been suddenly revolutionized to
those of open warfare, and our men, confident of the
results of their training, were eager for the test. On
the morning of May 28 this division attacked the com-
manding German position in its front, taking with
splendid dash the town of Cantigny and all other ob-
jectives, which were organized and held steadfastly
against vicious counterattacks and galling artillery
fire. Although local, this brilliant action had an
electrical effect, as it demonstrated our fighting
qualities under extreme battle conditions, and also
that the enemy's troops were not altogether invincible.
/The Germans' Aisne offensive, which began on
'^May 27, had advanced rapidly toward the River
Marne and Paris, and the Allies faced a crisis equally
as grave as that of the Picardy offensive in March.
Again every available man was placed at Marshal
Foch's disposal, and the Third Division, which had
just come from its preliminary training in the trench-
es, was hurried to the Marne. Its motorized machine-
gun battalion preceded the other units and success-
fully held the bridgehead at the Marne, opposite Cha-
teau-Thierry. The Second Division, in reserve near
Montdidier, was sent by motor trucks and other avail-
able transport to check the progress of the enemy to-

The American Army in France Page 17

ward Paris. The Division attacked and retook the
town and railroad station at Bouresches and sturdily
held its ground against the enemy's best guard divis-
ions. In the battle of Belleau Wood, which followed,
our men proved their superiority and gained a strong
tactical position, with far greater loss to the enemy
than to ourselves. On July 1, before the Second was
relieved, it captured the village of Vaux with most
splendid precision.

Meanwhile our Second Corps, under Maj. Gen.
George W. Read, had been organized for the com-
mand of our divisions with the British, which were
held back in training areas or assigned to second-line
defenses. Five of the ten divisions were withdrawn
from the British area in June, three to relieve divis-
ions in Lorraine and the Vosges and two to the Paris
area to join the group of American divisions which
stood between the city and any farther advance of the
enemy in that direction.

The great June-July troop movement from the
States was well under way, and, although these troops
were to be given some preliminary training before
being put into action, their very presence warranted
the use of all the older divisions in the confidence that
we did not lack reserves. Elements of the Forty-sec-
ond Division were in the line east of Rheims against
the German offensive of July IS, and held their
ground unflinchingly. On the right flank of this of-
fensive four companies of the Twenty-eighth Division
were in position in face of the advancing waves of the
German infantry. The Third Division was holding
the bank of the Marne from the bend east of the
mouth of the Surmelin to the west of Mezy, opposite

Page i8 General Pershing^s Own Story

Chateau Thierry, where a large force of German in-
fantry sought to force a passage under support of
powerful artillery concentrations and under cover of
smoke screens. A single regiment of the Third wrote
one of the most brilliant pages in our military annals
on this occasion. It prevented the crossing at certain
points on its front while, on either flank, the Germans,
who had gained a footing, pressed forward. Our men,
firing in three directions, met the German attacks
with counterattacks at critical points and succeeded
in throwing two German divisions into complete con-
fusion, capturing 600 prisoners.

The great force of the German Chateau Thierry
offensive established the deep Marne salient, but the
enemy was taking chances, and the vulnerability of
this pocket to attack might be turned to his disadvan-
tage. Seizing this opportunity to support my convic-
tion, every division with any sort of training was
made available for use in a counter-offensive. The
place of honor in the thrust toward Soissons on July
18 was given to our First and Second Divisions in
company with chosen French divisions. Without the
usual brief warning of a preliminary bombardment,
the massed French and American artillery, firing by
the map, laid down its rolling barrage at dawn while
the infantry began its charge. The tactical handling
of our troops under these trying conditions was excel-
lent throughout the action. The enemy brought up
large numbers of reserves and made a stubborn de-
fense both with machine guns and artillery, but
through five days' fighting the First Division con-
tinued to advance until it had gained the heights
above Soissons and captured the village of Berzy-le-

The American Army in France Page 19

sec. The Second Division took Beau Repaire farm
and Vierzy in a very rapid advance and reached a
position in front of Tigny at the end of its second day.
These two divisions captured 7,000 prisoners and
over 100 pieces of artillery.

The Twenty-sixth Division, which, with a French
division, was under command of our First Corps,
acted as a pivot of the movement toward Soissons. On
the 18th it took the village of Torcy while the Third
Division was crossing the Marne in pursuit of the re-
tiring enemy. The Twenty-sixth attacked again on
the 21st, and the enemy withdrew past the Chateau
Thierry-Soissons road. The Third Division, continu-
ing its progress, took the heights of Mont St. Pere
and the villages of Charteves and Jaulgonne in the
face of both machine-gun and artillery fire.

On the 24th, after the Germans had fallen back
from Trugny and Epieds, our Forty-Second Division,
which had been brought over from the Champagne,
relieved the Twenty-sixth and, fighting its way
through the Foret de Fere, overwhelmed the nest of
machine guns in its path. By the 27th it had reached
the Ourcq, whence the Third and Fourth Divisions
were already advancing, while the French divisions
with which we were cooperating were moving for-
ward at other points.

The Third Division had made its advance into
Roncheres Wood on the 29th and was relieved for
rest by a brigade of the Thirty-second. The Forty-
second and Thirty-second undertook the task of con-
quering the heights beyond Cierges, the Forty-second
capturing Sergy and the Thirty-second capturing
Hill 230, both American divisions joining in the pur-

Page 20 General Pershing's Own Story

suit of the enemy to the Vesle, and thus the operation
of reducing the salient was finished. Meanwhile the
Forty-second was relieved by the Fourth at Chery-
Chartreuve, and the Thirty-second by the Twenty-
eighth, while the Seventy-seventh Division took up a
position on the Vesle. The operations of these di-
visions on the Vesle were under the Third Corps,
Maj. Gen. Robert L. Bullard, commanding.

BATTLE OF ST. MIHIEL

With the reduction of the Marne salient we could
look forward to the concentration of our divisions in
our own zone. In view of the forthcoming operation
against the St. Mihiel salient, which had long been
planned as our first offensive action on a large scale,
the First Army was organized on August 10 under
my personal command. While American units had
held different divisional and corps sectors along the
western front, there had not been up to this time, for
obvious reasons, a distinct American sector; but, in
view of the important parts the American forces were
now to play, it was necessary to take over a permanent
portion of the line. Accordingly, on August 30, the
line beginning at Fort sur Seille, east of the Moselle
and extending to the west through St. Mihiel, thence
north to a point opposite Verdun, was placed under
my command. The American sector was afterwards
extended across the Meuse to the western edge of the
Argonne Forest, and included the Second Colonial
French, which held the point of the salient, and the
Seventeenth French Corps, which occupied the
heights above Verdun.

The preparation for a complicated operation

The American Army in France Page 21

against the formidable defenses in front of us includ-
ed the assembling of divisions and of corps and army
artillery, transport, aircraft, tanks, ambulances, the
location of hospitals, and the molding together of all
the elements of a great modern army with its own
railheads, supplied directly by our own Service of
Supply. The concentration for this operation, which
was to be a surprise, involved the movement, mostly
at night, of approximately 600,000 troops, and re-
quired for its success the most careful attention to
every detail.

The French were generous in giving us assistance
in corps and army artillery, with its personnel, and
we were confident from the start of our superiority
over the enemy in guns of all calibers. Our heavy
guns were able to reach Metz and to interfere serious-
ly with German rail movements. The French Inde-
pendent Air Force was placed under my command
which, together with the British bombing squadrons
and our air forces, gave us the largest assembly of
aviation that had ever been engaged in one operation
on the western front.

From Les Eparges around the nose of the salient at
St. Mihiel to the Moselle River the line was roughly
40 miles long and situated on commanding ground
greatly strengthened by artificial defenses. Our First
Corps (Eighty-second, Ninetieth, Fifth, and Second
Divisions) under command of Maj. Gen. Hunter
Liggett, restrung its right on Pont-a-Mousson, with
its left joining our Third Corps (the Eighty-ninth,
Forty-second, and First Divisions), under Maj. Gen.
Joseph T. Dickman, in line to Xivray, were to swing
in toward Vigneulles on the pivot of the Moselle

Page 22 General Pershing's Own Story

River for the initial assault. From Xivray to Mouilly
the Second Colonial French Corps was in line in the
center and our Fifth Corps, under command of Maj.
Gen. George H. Cameron, with our Twenty-sixth
Division and a French division at the western base of
the salient, were to attack three difficult hills — Les
Eparges, Combres, and Amaramthe. Our First Corps
had in reserve the Seventy-eighth Division, our
Fourth Corps the Third Division, and our First
Army the Thirty-fifth and Ninety-first Divisions,
with the Eightieth and Thirty-third available. It
should be understood that our corps organizations are
very elastic, and that we have at no time had perma-
nent assignments of divisions to corps.

After four hours artillery preparation, the seven
American divisions in the front line advanced at 5
a. m., on September 12, assisted by a limited number
of tanks manned partly by Americans and partly by
the French. These divisions, accompanied by groups
of wire cutters and others armed with bangalore tor-
pedoes, went through the successive bands of barbed
wire that protected the enemy's front line and sup-
port trenches, in irresistible waves on schedule time,
breaking down all defense of an enemy demoralized
by the great volume of our artillery fire and our sud-
den approach out of the fog.

Our First Corps advanced to Thiaucourt, while
our Fourth Corps curved back to the southwest
through Nonsard. The Second Colonial French
Corps made the slight advance required of it on very
difficult ground, and the Fifth Corps took its three
ridges and repulsed a counter attack. A rapid
march brought reserve regiments of a Division of the

The American Army in France Page 23

Fifth Corps into Vigneulles in the early morning,
where it linked up with patrols of our Fourth Corps,
closing the salient and forming a new line west of
Thiacourt to Vigneulles and beyond Fresnes-en-
Woevre. At the cost of only 7,000 casualties, mostly
light, we had taken 16,000 prisoners and 443 guns, a
great quantity of material, released the inhabitants
of many villages from enemy domination, and estab-
lished our lines in a position to threaten Metz. This
signal success of the American First Army in its first
ofifensive was of prime importance. The Allies found
they had a formidable army to aid them, and the
enemy learned finally that he had one to reckon with.

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE, FIRST PHASE

On the day after we had taken the St. Mihiel sali-
ent, much of our Corps and Army artillery which had
operated at St. Mihiel, and our Divisions in reserve at
other points, were already on the move toward the
area back of the line between the Meuse River and
the western edge of the forest of Argonne. With the
exception of St. Mihiel, the old German front line
from Switzerland to the east of Rheims was still in-
tact. In the general attack all along the line, the
operation assigned the American Army as the hinge
of this Allied offensive was directed toward the im-
portant railroad communications of the German
armies through Mezieres and Sedan. The enemy
must hold fast to this part of his lines or the with-
drawal of his forces with four years' accumulation of
plants and material would be dangerously imperiled.

The German Army had as yet shown no demorali-
zation and, while the mass of its troops had suffered
in morale, its first-class divisions and notably its ma-

Page 24 General Pershing's Own Story

chine-gun defense were exhibiting remarkable tacti-
cal efficiency as well as courage. The German Gen-
eral Staff was fully aware of the consequences of a
success on the Meuse-Argonne line. Certain that he
would do everything in his power to oppose us, the ac-
tion was planned with as much secrecy as possible
and was undertaken with the determination to use all
our Divisions in forcing decision. We expected to
draw the best German divisions to our front and to
consume them while the enemy was held under grave
apprehension lest our attack should break his line,
which it was our firm purpose to do.

Our right flank was protected by the Meuse, while
our left embraced the Argonne forest whose ravines,
hills, and elaborate defense screened by dense thickets
had been generally considered impregnable. Our
order of battle from right to left was the Third Corps
from the Meuse to Malancourt, with the Thirty-
third, Eightieth, and Fourth Divisions in line, and
the Third Division as corps reserve; the Fifth Corps
from Malancourt to Vauquois, with Seventy-ninth,
Eighty-seventh, and Ninety-first Divisions in line,
and the Thirty-second in corps reserve; and the First
Corps, from Vauquois to Vienne Le Chateau, with
Thirty-fifth, Twenty-eighth, and Seventy-seventh Di-
visions in line, and the Ninety-second in corps re-
serve. The Army reserve consisted of the First,
Twenty-ninth, and Eighty-second Divisions.

On the night of September 25 our troops quietly
took the place of the French who thinly held the line
in this sector which had long been inactive. In the
attack which began on the 26th we drove through the
barbed wire entanglements and the sea of shell craters

The American Army in France Page 25

across No Man's Land, mastering all the first-line de-
fenses. Continuing on the 27th and 28th, against ma-
chine guns and artillery of an increasing number of
enemy reserve divisions, we penetrated to a depth of
from 3 to 7 miles, and took the village of Montfau-
con and its commanding hill and Exermont, Ger-
court, Cuisy, Septsarges, Malancourt, Ivoiry,Epinon-
ville, Charpentry, Very, and other villages. East of
the Meuse one of our Divisions, which was with the
Second Colonial French Corps, captured Marche-
ville and Rieville, giving further protection to the
flank of our main body. We had taken 10,000 prison-
ers, we had gained our point of forcing the battle into
the open and were prepared for the enem.y's reaction,
which was bound to come as he had good roads and
ample railroad facilities for bringing up his artillery
and reserves.

In the chill rain of dark nights our engineers had
to build new roads across spongy, shell-torn areas,
repair broken roads beyond No Man's Land, and
build bridges. Our gunners, with no thought of sleep,
put their shoulders to wheels and dragropes to bring
their guns through the mire in support of the infan-
try, now under the increasing fire of the enemy's artil-
lery. Our attack had taken the enemy by surprise,
but, quickly recovering himself, he began to fire coun-
ter-attacks in strong force, supported by heavy bom^-
bardments, with large quantities of gas. From Sep-
tember 28 until October 4 we maintained the offen-
sive against patches of woods defended by snipers and
continuous lines of machine guns, and pushed for-
ward our guns and transport, seizing strategical
points in preparation for further attacks.

Page 26 GENERAL PeRSHING^S OwN StORY

OTHER UNITS WITH ALLIES

Other Divisions attached to the Allied armies were
doing their part. It was the fortune of our Second
Corps, composed of the Twenty-seventh and Thirti-
eth Divisions, which had remained with the British,
to have a place of honor in cooperation with the Aus-
tralian Corps on September 29 and October 1 in the
assaut on the Hindenburg line where the St. Quentin
Canal passes through a tunnel under a ridge. The
Thirtieth Division speedily broke through the main
line of defense for all its objectives, while the Twen-
ty-seventh pushed on impetuously through the main
line until some of its elements reached Gouy. In the
midst of the maze of trenches and shell craters and
under cross fire from machine guns the other ele-
ments fought desperately against odds. In this and
in later actions, from October 6 to October 19, our
Second Corps captured over 6,000 prisoners and ad-
vanced over 13 miles. The spirit and aggressiveness
of these Divisions have been highly praised by the
British Army commander under whom they served.

On October 2-9 our Second and Thirty-Sixth Di-
visions were sent to assist the French in an important
attack against the old German positions before
Rheims. The Second conquered the complicated de-
fense works on their front against a persistent defense
worthy of the grimmest period of trench warfare and
attacked the strongly held wooded hill of Blanc
Mont, which they captured in a second assault,
sweeping over it with a consummate dash and skill.
This Division then repulsed strong counter attacks
before the village and cemetery of Ste. Etienne and

The American Army in France Page 27

took the town, forcing the Germans to fall back from
before Rheims and yield positions they had held since
September, 1914. On October 9, the Thirty-sixth
Division relieved the Second and, in its first exper-
ience under fire, withstood very severe artillery bom-
bardment and rapidly took up the pursuit of the en-
emy, now retiring behind the Aisne.

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE, SECOND PHASE

The Allied progress elsewhere cheered the efforts
of our men in this crucial contest as the German com-
mand threw in more and more first-class troops to
stop our advance. We made steady headway in the
almost impenetrable and strongly held Argonne For-
est, for, despite this reinforcement, it was our Army
that was doing the driving. Our aircraft was in-
creasing in skill and numbers and forcing the issue,
and our Infantry and Artillery were improving rapid-
ly with each new experience. The replacements
fresh from home were put into exhausted divisions
with little time for training, but they had the advan-
tage of serving beside men who knew their business
and who had almost become veterans overnight. The
enemy had taken every advantage of the terrain,
which especialy favored the defense, by a prodigal
use of machine guns manned by highly trained vet-
erans and by using his artillery at short ranges. In
the face of such strong frontal positions we should
have been unable to accomplish any progress accord-
ing to previously accepted standards, but I had every
confidence in our aggressive tactics and the courage
of our troops.

On October 4 the attack was renewed all along our

Fage 28 General Pershinc's Own Story

front. The Third Corps tilting to the left followed
the Brieulles-Cunel road ; our Fifth Corps took Ges-
nes while the First Corps advanced for over 2 miles
along the irregular valley of the Aire River and in
the wooded hills of the Argonne that bordered the
river, used by the enemy with all his art and wea-
pons of defense. This sort of fighting continued
against an enemy striving to hold every foot of ground
and whose very strong counter-attacks challenged us
at every point. On the 7th the First Corps captured
Chatel-Chehery and continued along the river to
Cornay. On the east of Meuse sector one of the two
Divisions cooperating with the French captured
Consenvoye and the Haumont Woods. On the 9th the
Fifth Corps, in its progress up the Aire, took Fleville,
and the Third Corps which had continuous fighting
against odds was working its way through BrieuUes
and Cunel. On the 10th we had cleared the Argonne
Forest of the enemy.

It was now necessary to constitute a second army,
and on October 9 the immediate command of the
First Army was turned over to Lieut. Gen. Hunter
Liggett. The command of the Second Army, whose
divisions occupied a sector in the Woevre, was given
to Lieut. Gen. Robert L. Bullard, who had been
commander of the First Division and then of the
Third Corps. Maj. Gen. Dickman was transferred
to the command of the First Corps, while the Fifth
Corps was placed under Maj. Gen. Charles P. Sum-
merall, who had recently commanded the First Di-
vision. Maj. Gen. John L. Hines, who had gone rap-
idly up from regimental to division commander, was
assigned to the Third Corps. These four officers had

The American Army in France Vage zg

been in France from the early days of the expedition
and had learned their lessons in the school of practi-
cal warfare.

Our constant pressure against the enemy brought
day by day more prisoners, mostly survivors from ma-
chine-gun nests captured in fighting at close quarters.
On October 18 there was very fierce fighting in the
Caures Woods east of the Meuse and in the Ormont
Woods. On the 14th the First Corps took St. Juvin,
and the Fifth Corps, in hand-to-hand encounters, en-
tered the formidable Kriemhilde line, where the en-
emy had hoped to check us indefinitely. Later the
Fifth Corps penetrated further the Kriemhilde line,
and the First Corps took Champigneulles and the im-
portant town of Grandpre. Our dogged offensive
was wearing down the enemy, who continued des-
perately to throw his best troops against us, thus
weakening his line in front of our Allies and making
their advance less difficult.

DIVISIONS IN BELGIUM

Meanwhile we v/ere not only able to continue the
battle, but our Thirty-seventh and Ninety-first Di-
visions were hastily withdrawn from our front and
dispatched to help the French Army in Belgium. De-
training in the neighborhood of Ypres, these Di-
visions advanced by rapid stages to the fighting line
and were assigned to adjacent French corps. On Oc-
tober 31, in continuation of the Flanders offensive,
they attacked and methodically broke down all enemy
resistance. On November 3 the Thirty-seventh had
completed its mission in dividing the enemy across
the Escaut River and firmly established itself along

Page 30 General Pershing's Own Story

the east bank included in the division zone of action.
By a clever flanking movement troops of the Ninety-
first Division captured Spitaals Bosschen, a difficult
wood extending across the central part of the division
sector, reached the Escaut, and penetrated into the
town of Audenarde. These divisions received high
commendation from their corps commanders for their
dash and energy.

MEUSE-ARGONNE — LAST PHASE

On the 23d the Third and Fifth Corps pushed
northward to the level of Bantheville. While we
continued to press forward and throw back the en-
emy's violent counter-attacks with great loss to him,
a regrouping of our forces was under v/ay for the
final assault. Evidences of loss of morale by the en-
emy gave our men more confidence in attack and
more fortitude in enduring the fatigue of incessant
effort and the hardships of very inclement weather.

With comparatively well-rested divisions, the final
advance in the Meuse-Argonne front was begun on
November 1. Our increased artillery force acquitted
itself magnificently in support of the advance, and
the enemy broke before the determined infantry,
which, by its persistent fighting of the past weeks and
the dash of this attack, had overcome his will to re-
sist. The Third Corps took Aincreville, Doulcon,
and Andevanne, and the Fifth Corps took Landres et
St. Georges and pressed through successive lines of
resistance to Bayonville and Chennery. On the 2d
the First Corps joined in the movement, which now
became an impetuous onslaught that could not be
stayed.

The American Army in France Page 31

On the 3d advance troops surged forward in pur-
suit, some by motor trucks, while the artillery pressed
along the country roads close behind. The First
Corps reached Authe and Chatillon-Sur-Bar, the
Fifth Corps, Fosse and Nouart, and the Third Corps
Halles, penetrating the enemy's line to a depth of 12
miles. Our large caliber guns had advanced and
were skillfully brought into position to fire upon
the important lines at Montmedy, Longuyon, and
Conflans. Our Third Corps crossed the Meuse on
the Sth and the other corps, in the full confidence that
the day was theirs, eagerly cleared the way of ma-
chine guns as they swept northward, maintaining
complete coordination throughout. On the 6th, a
division of the First Corps reached a point on the
Meuse opposite Sedan, 25 miles from our line of de-
parture. The strategical goal which was our high-
est hope was gained. We had cut the enemy's main
line of communications, and nothing but surrender
or an armistice could save his army from complete
disaster.

In all 40 enemy divisions had been used against us ....^ m^

in the Meuse-Argonne battle. Between September |^_4M,,^^,fi^t^.
26 and November 6 we took 26,059 prisoners and 468
guns on this front. Our Divisions engaged were the
First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Twenty-sixth,
Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-second, Thirty-
third, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-seventh, Forty-second,
Seventy-seventh, Seventy-eighth, Seventy-ninth,
Eightieth, Eighty-second, Eighty-ninth, Ninetieth,
and Ninety-first. Many of our divisions remained in
line for a length of time that required nerves of steel,
while others were sent in again after only a few days

Page 32 General Pershing's Own Story

of rest. The First, Fifth, Twenty-sixth, Forty-
second, Seventy-seventh, Eightieth, Eighty-ninth, and
Ninetieth were in the line twice. Although some of
the divisions were fighting their first battle, they soon
became equal to the best.

OPERATIONS EAST OF THE MEUSE

On the three days preceding November 10, the
Third, the Second Colonial, and the Seventeenth
French Corps fought a difficult struggle through the
Meuse Hills south of Stenay and forced the enem.y
into the plain. Meanwhile, my plans for further use
of the American forces contemplated an advance be-
tween the Meuse and the Moselle in the direction of
Longwy by the First Army, while, at the same time,
the Second Army should assure the offensive toward
the rich iron fields of Briey. These operations were
to be followed by an offensive toward Chateau-Salins
east of the Moselle, thus isolating Metz. According-
ly, attacks on the American front had been ordered
and that of the Second Army was in progress on the
morning of November 11, when instructions were re-
ceived that hostilities should cease at 1 1 o'clock a. m.

At this moment the line of the American sector,
from right to left, began at Port-Sur-Seille, thence
across the Moselle to Vandieres and through the
Woevre to Bezonvaux in the foothills of the Meuse,
thence along to the foothills and through the northern
edge of the Woevre forests to the Meuse at Mouzay,
thence along the Meuse connecting with the French
under Sedan.

General Pershing's Own Story Page 33

RELATIONS WITH THE ALLIES

Cooperation among the Allies has at all itmes been
most cordial. A far greater effort has been put forth
by the Allied armies and staffs to assist us than could
have been expected. The French Government and
Army have always stood ready to furnish us with sup-
plies, equipment; and transportation and to aid us in
every way. In the towns and hamlets wherever our
troops have been stationed or billeted the French peo-
ple have everywhere received them more as relatives
and intimate friends than as soldiers of a foreign
army. For these things words are quite inadequate
to express our gratitude. There can be no doubt that
the relations growing out of our associations here as-
sure a permanent friendship between the two peoples.
Although we have not been so intimately associated
with the people of Great Britain, yet their troops and
ours when thrown together have always warmly frat-
ernized. The reception of those of our forces who
have passed through England and of those who have
been stationed there has always been enthusiastic. Al-
together it has been deeply impressed upon us that
the ties of language and blood bring the British and
ourselves together completely and inseparably.

STRENGTH

There are in Europe altogether including a regi-
ment and some sanitary units with the Italian Army
and the organizations at Murmansk, also including
those en route from the States, approximately 2,053,-
347 men, less our losses. Of this total there are in
France 1,338,169 combatant troops. Forty divisions

Page 34 General Pershing's Own Story

have arrived, of which the Infantry personnel of 10
have been used as replacements, leaving 30 divisions
now in France organized into three armies of three
corps each.

The losses of the Americans up to November 18
are: Killed and wounded, 36,145; died of disease,
14,81 1 ; deaths unclassified, 2,204 ; wounded, 179,625 ;
prisoners, 2,163; missing, 1,160. We have captured
about 44,000 prisoners and 1,400 guns, howitzers and
trench mortars.

COMMENDATION

The duties of the General Staff, as well as those of
the Army and corps staffs, have been very ably per-
formed. Especially is this true when we consider the
new and difficult problems with which they have been
confronted. This body of officers, both as individ-
uals and as an organization, have, I believe, no su-
periors in professional ability, in efficiency, or in
loyalty.

Nothing that we have in France better reflects the
efficiency and devotion to duty of Americans in gen-
eral than the Service of Supply whose personnel is
thoroughly imbued with a patriotic desire to do its
full duty. They have at all times fully appreciated
their responsibility to the rest of the Army and the
results produced have been most gratifying. .

Our Medical Corps is especially entitled to praise
for the general effectiveness of its work both in hos-
pital and at the front. Embracing men of high pro-
fessional attainments, and splendid women devoted
to their calling and untiring in their efforts, this de-
partment has made a new record for medical and san-
itary proficiency.

General Pershing's Own Story Page 55

The Quartermaster Department has had difficult
and various tasks, but it has more than met all de-
mands that have been made upon it. Its management
and its personnel have been exceptionally efficient and
deserve every possible commendation.

As to the more technical services, the able personnel
of the Ordnance Department in France has splendid-
ly fulfilled its functions both in procurement and in
forwarding the immense quantities of ordnance re-
quired. The officers and men and the young women
of the Signal Corps have performed their duties with
a large conception of the problem and with a devoted
and patriotic spirit to which the perfection of our
communications daily testify. While the Engineer
Corps has been referred to in another part of this re-
port, it should be further stated that the work has re-
quired large vision and high professional skill, and
great credit is due their personnel for the high pro-
ficiency that they have constantly maintained.

Our aviators have no equals in daring or in fighting
ability and have left a record of courageous de'eds tTiat
will ever remain a brilliant page in the annals of our
Army. While the Tank Corps has had limited op-
portunities its personnel has responded gallantly on
every possible occasion and has shown courage of the
highest order.

The Adjutant General's Department has been di-
rected with a systematic thoroughness and excellence
that surpassed any previous work of its kind. The In-
spector General's Department has risen to the high-
est standards and throughout has ably assisted com-
manders in the enforcement of discipline. The able
personnel of the Judge Advocate General's Depart-

Page j6 General Pershing's Own Story

ment has solved with judgment and wisdom the multi-
tude of difficult legal problems, many of them involv-
ing questions of great international importance.

It would be impossible in this brief preliminary re-
port to do justice to the personnel of all the different
branches of this organization which I shall cover in
detail in a later report.

The Navy in European waters has at all times most
cordially aided the Army, and it is most gratifying to
report that there has never before been such perfect
cooperation between these two branches of the ser-
vice.

As to Americans in Europe not in the military ser-
vices, it is the greatest pleasure to say that, both in
official and in private life, they are intensely patri-
otic and loyal, and have been invariably sympathetic
and helpful to the Army.

Finally, I pay the supreme tribute to our officers
and soldiers of the line. When I think of their hero-
ism, their patience under hardships, their unflinching
spirit of offensive action, I am filled with emotion
which I am unable to express. Their deeds are im-
mortal, and they have earned the eternal gratitude of
our country.

I am, Mr. Secretary, very respectfully,

John J. Pershing,

General, Commander in Chief
American Expeditionary Forces.

To the Secretary of War.